Two months ago, she disobeyed an order, but instead of kicking her out of the Pride, Jace offered her a job. Since then, she’s been battling a completely inappropriate crush on the young, hot Alpha. But when accepting his job offer seems like the only way to keep her skeletons safely in their closet, Abby doesn’t hesitate.

Jace Hammond has a big problem.

A rogue is slaughtering humans in his territory, and he must eliminate the threat before the entire shifter species is exposed. There could not be a worse time for Abby to accept a job he only offered as a boost to her confidence. Abby is smart, beautiful, and resilient—more than enough to distract any man from the mission. Unfortunately, she may just be the worst enforcer ever to hold the title.

As they hunt the killer, Abby’s secret becomes a threat to Jace’s authority and to her own life. But the real danger is the grip she has on his twice-shy heart.

About the Author:Rachel Vincent (website) is the author of the Shifters series and the Unbound series for adults, as well as the Soul Screamers series for teens.

Rachel's next young adult book is THE STARS NEVER RISE, coming from Delacorte in June of 2015, and her new series for adults will debut with MENAGERIE, coming from Mira books in the fall of 2015

Rachel Vincent is a former English teacher and an eager champion of the Oxford comma. She shares her home in Oklahoma with two cats, two teenagers, and her husband, who's been her # 1 fan from the start. Rachel is older than she looks and younger than she feels, and she remains convinced that writing about the things that scare her is the cheapest form of therapy--but social media is a close second.

If seventeen-year-old Skylar Evans were a typical Creek View girl, her future would involve a double-wide trailer, a baby on her hip, and the graveyard shift at Taco Bell. But after graduation, the only thing standing between straightedge Skylar and art school are three minimum-wage months of summer. Skylar can taste the freedom—that is, until her mother loses her job and everything starts coming apart. Torn between her dreams and the people she loves, Skylar realizes everything she’s ever worked for is on the line.

Nineteen-year-old Josh Mitchell had a different ticket out of Creek View: the Marines. But after his leg is blown off in Afghanistan, he returns home, a shell of the cocksure boy he used to be. What brings Skylar and Josh together is working at the Paradise—a quirky motel off California’s dusty Highway 99. Despite their differences, their shared isolation turns into an unexpected friendship and soon, something deeper.

What if all you had wanted, all you had worked at least four years for was within reach? Then, what if something you couldn't ignore, something that demands you notice, puts all of that in jeopardy?

Skylar is going to get out of Creek View. She isn't going to be one of those girls who stays in town, never going anywhere or being anything - she isn't going to live her mother's life. Skylar and one of her two best friends, Chris, even made a pact to ensure they both made it out of Creek View. They kept each other focused, they got the right grades, now they're both off to college in the fall.

The pact also involves no romance, though because, "Of course, romance was bad for GPAs," (pg 44). While that part wasn't hard to stick to pre-graduation, now, with her departure a few weeks away, it's the part of the pact Skylar may break.

Josh Mitchell is just back from Afghanistan. Home after losing his leg in an explosion, he's not the boy Skylar remembers. The 'It Boy' things revolved around in high school, Josh is still surrounded by people now that he's home, but it isn't working. The things he's seen, the friends he's lost don't allow him to be that carefree, boy of just a few years ago.

As they work together at the Paradise motel, something brings them together.

Skylar's determination to get out of Creek View, to go to art school, was unquestionable. It impacted her decision making and all of her work seems to have paid off: she has a plan, an exit date. Her desire to leave gives her a goal, it 's something that makes her different from almost everyone else in town. And being so committed to leaving causes her to question herself later.

It's right for her, sure, but is it the right thing to do? When people she cares about may need her, is leaving really the right thing? Can she really do it?

As Josh makes his way into Skylar's life - and becomes one of those people - Demetrios does a superb job with his character and story. He left Creek View a 'cocksure' guy, always at the center of things, with people - girls - around and up to something. His time as a Marine, in Afghanistan has changed him. The author does a really, really great job with Josh and his memories of the war, how it shaped who he now is. There's the 'bad,' of course, the injuries, the death, the destruction. But there's also the 'good,' the time with friends, the lighter moments.

How their two characters come together: Skylar whose life with her mother isn't easy but who is counting the days until she can leave and Josh who can't seem to fit back into his old life, who isn't sure who he is now. Their personalities are (so) different, their experiences and expectations are different, yet they fit.

There's Skylar, her plans, her relationships with Dylan, Chris, even Marge, her past and how it still pulls at her, her indecision and then Josh with his confusion, his injury, his hurt and depression. Obviously, their relationship is not light and fluffy but it's real and complicated. It's confusing, emotional and difficult. But it, the characters, their relationships, their pasts, their possible futures, all combine for a powerful book (and characters) you're not likely to forget.

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun!

A year after one of their identical twin daughters, Lydia, dies in an accident, Angus and Sarah Moorcraft move to the tiny Scottish island Angus inherited from his grandmother, hoping to put together the pieces of their shattered lives.

But when their surviving daughter, Kirstie, claims they have mistaken her identity – that she, in fact, is Lydia – their world comes crashing down once again.

As winter encroaches, Angus is forced to travel away from the island for work, Sarah is feeling isolated, and Kirstie (or is it Lydia?) is growing more disturbed. When a violent storm leaves Sarah and her daughter stranded, Sarah finds herself tortured by the past – what really happened on that fateful day one of her daughters died?

"I [,,,] gaze around our big bright Camden kitchen . . . all of it screaming: this is the kitchen of a well-to-do middle-class couple!
And all of it is a lie." -pg 26

From the beginning of S.K. Tremayne's The Ice Twins it is clear that appearances can be deceiving. It's been just over a year since one of their identical twin daughters died and the interim has not been kind to their family. With both financial troubles and marital difficulties weighing on them, moving to the tiny, remote Scottish island Angus inherited from his grandmother seems the perfect solution.

But their lives - and their plan for a new beginning - hit a snag when their surviving daughter, Kirstie, says she's not Kirstie, after all but Lydia, the girl they believed died. A horrible, horrible mistake has been made.

The Ice Twins features narration from both parents, Angus and Sarah. The changes in narrator seem to happen at he perfect time. It's clear from the start that Angus and Sarah's lives are not all they had hoped for - and not just because of their daughter's death. We hear of the perfect, envied life that they had. A life that can easily be contrasted with their current life and relationships.

The dual narration also allows readers to know - or at least know of - some of the myriad of lies and secrets the couple are keeping from each other. Even, or perhaps especially, as some of it is only hinted at, you get a good idea of their relationship and how they view each other.

As the story progresses, with the move to the island, the attempts at starting life anew, we see just how dark and twisted their life may be. From the secrets to the lies, the omissions, the difficulties in their new life, the pain and betrayals of the past, everyone's motives and perceptions are suspect.

It isn't clear who the good or bad guys in this tale. Or if they're it's all been so muddied that there really is no 'good' or 'bad.'

Sarah and Angus drink too much, they keep things from each other, they suspect each other, they get angry . . . and as each of them tells the story, often casting aspersion on the other's actions or beliefs, it's hard to know which, if either, of them to believe.

I loved not knowing which character could be relied on, who might be exaggerating or misinterpreting or remembering incorrectly. Not knowing if the characters were all, really, sane. Not knowing if Kirstie was Lydia or Kirstie or what. Not even knowing for sure what genre the book was falling into, so not knowing what could be believed.

The Moorcroft's are a deeply flawed family. Some of it a result of the tragedy they experienced a year ago, some of it preceding that and part of who the characters are, their pasts. The death of one daughter nearly unravel's them but when it comes out they may have gotten her identity wrong, all of their secrets, their lies threaten to come out.

When Chase and Kay hit the streets of Las Vegas, the goal is simple—rescue Will, Chase’s brother, from making the biggest mistake of his young life. But keeping Will out of trouble turns out not to be the only obstacle in Chase and Kay’s path. Finding himself back in the city that broke him, Chase’s heartbreaking past threatens to derail all the progress he’s made.

However, Chase is determined not to let that happen.

While striving to help Will before he implodes, Chase seeks to come to terms with the things that almost destroyed him. He soon discovers that the answers to the most complicated questions sometimes lie in one’s own heart. You just have to be willing to dig deep enough to find them.

Can Chase succeed in doing that?

Just Let Me Love You is a story of healing, letting go, and trusting love to guide you. The conclusion of the Judge Me Not trilogy brings everything full circle.

New Adult Romance

*mature themes including explicit sex scenes and profanity*

Third and final novel in the Judge Me Not series/trilogy.

About the Author:

S.R. Grey (website) is an Amazon Top 100 and Barnes & Noble Top 100 Bestselling author. She is the author of the popular Judge Me Not series, as well as the Inevitability duology and A Harbour Falls Mystery trilogy. Ms. Grey’s novels have appeared on Amazon and Barnes & Noble bestseller lists in multiple categories, including #1 on the Barnes & Noble Nook Bestsellers list last year.

New novels slated for 2015 release dates are Inevitable Circumstances (Inevitability #2), and a New Adult novel to be revealed in the future.

Ms. Grey resides in Pennsylvania. She has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree, as well as an MBA. Her background is in business, but her true passion lies in writing. When not writing, Ms. Grey can be found reading, traveling, running, or cheering for her hometown sports teams.

Excerpt:

CHASE:

Sending Kay back to Harmony Creek
turns out to be one of the hardest things I have to do. She’s become such a
part of my life. It’s like when Kay breathes, I breathe.

Before my love
boards the plane, she wraps her little arms around me best as she can.

In a choked-up
voice, she says, “Do you realize this will be the first time we’ll be apart
since we met?”

Surely that can’t
be right.

“Wait,” I say. “We
spent our nights apart in the early days. Remember, we didn’t sleep in the same
bed until after we were together for almost a month.”

The first might
spent together was when Kay showed up on my doorstep, frightened and hurt from
the junkie that had accosted her in her old apartment parking lot.

With her cheek
pressed firmly to my chest, she murmurs, “Still, Chase, we’re together every
day. Even when I was mad at you over the incident with Missy…”

She trails off,
and I murmur, “Ah, yes, the incident with Missy.”

Kay was pissed
when she learned I had an encounter, of the sexual variety, with her friend.
Although, in my defense, it happened before I met Kay. And she wasn’t so much
mad over the event, she was pissed I’d never told her.

But that was then,
and this is now.

Giveaway:
(International)

$5.00 Amazon card

1 set of Judge Me Not e-books (includes I Stand Before You, Never Doubt Me, and Just Let Me Love You) (mobi to kindle)

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

While backpacking through Florence, Italy, during the summer before she heads off to college, Lucy Sommersworth finds herself falling in love with the culture, the architecture, the food...and Jesse Palladino, a handsome street musician. After a whirlwind romance, Lucy returns home, determined to move on from her "vacation flirtation." But just because summer is over doesn't mean Lucy and Jesse are over, too.

In this coming-of-age romance, April Lindner perfectly captures the highs and lows of a summer love that might just be meant to last beyond the season.

Did you love Gayle Forman's Just One Day or the part of Stephanie Perkins' Isla and the Happily Ever Afterset in Barcelona? Have you been waiting for the next book that could not only transport you to a beautiful locale, but accompany that with two great character with undeniable chemistry? If you have, then Love, Lucy is your next read.

(And if you haven't, I don't know what to tell you.)

Even if Florence hasn't been on your list of places to see, the beginning of Love, Lucy is likely to make you wish you were there. As Lucy works with (and maybe around) her tour mate Charlene to have the trip she's imagined, readers will want to go right along with her.

Then when Jesse enters the picture . . . Well, who doesn't want to explore a beautiful, historic European city like that?

Lucy and Jesse's adventures provide a romantic backdrop for their relationship's beginning as well as opportunities to learn about each other.

As much as I loved Lucy (and Jesse's) time in Italy, though, my favorite parts of the novel came once the trip was over and Lucy returned to real, everyday life. We already had glimpses into her character - why she was on the trip, what her future likely held - during the time in Italy, but now we see 'normal' Lucy. How she is when not falling in love in Italy.

The more real her character becomes, the more she has to deal with the everyday, the more Love, Lucy becomes more than just a cute romance book. Lucy and Jesse face struggles in their relationship, Lucy has her own difficulties and decisions. We get a fuller, deeper view of the characters, of their relationship and it makes them - and it - something to really root for. Not because those first days were so sweet and out of a dream but because you care about the characters and want something good for them.

With Lucy's attempts to find out who she wants to be - and how to mesh that with what her family expects of her, her starting college, and Lucy and Jesse's romance, Love, Lucy is almost a New Adult novel. It is still Young Adult but should appeal to older readers as well.

This modern update on A Room with A View is cute, fun and romantic but also has more depth that I was expecting, and Lucy's a very well done character. Vespas, cute boys, gelato, discovering your dreams, living your dreams, it's all in Love, Lucy.

There’s a heavy price to pay for royalty in this compelling—and true—story of Anastasia Romanov and fellow grand duchesses of Russia, from an award-winning novelist.

It’s summer in 1914 and the Romanovs are aboard the Standart, the Russian royal yacht. Tsar Nicholas, Tsaritsa Alexandra, their four daughters, and the youngest child, Tsarevitch Alexei, are sailing to Romania to meet Crown Prince Carol and his parents. It seems like a fairy tale existence for the four grand duchesses, dressed in beautiful clothes, traveling from palace to palace. But it’s not.

Life inside the palace is far from a fairy tale. The girls’ younger brother suffers from an excruciatingly painful and deadly blood disease, and their parents have chosen to shield the Russian people from the severity of the future tsar’s condition. The secrets and strain are hard on the family, and conditions are equally dire beyond the palace walls. Peasants chafe under the burden of extreme poverty and Tsar Nicholas’s leadership power weakens. And when the unthinkable happens—Germany declares war on Russia—nothing in Anastasia’s world will ever be the same.

(my review of Book 1 All That Glows- summary and review below contain spoilers if you haven't read it, yet!)

In this thrilling sequel to All That Glows, the worlds of magic and mortal are colliding as London celebrates its new king, marking an era of unity between the Faery realm and the human one. Emrys, the Faery guard to the British royal family, sacrificed her powers to be with King Richard, choosing love over immortality. But now, as Emrys struggles to navigate her place between the Faery queen’s court and London’s lavish galas, danger looms beyond the Thames.When a prisoner with dark, strange magic breaks out of Queen Titania’s labyrinthine prison, endangering Emrys's king and sparking an uprising, Emrys must make the hardest decision of all.

Will she reclaim her magic to save Richard’s life and lose him forever? Or stay powerless as the kingdom goes down in flames?

All That Burns was a pretty fantastic sequel to All That Glows. Readers - and the mortals in the novel - now know that Emrys was a member of the Fae. As part of the Faery guard sworn since the time of King Arthur to protect the royal family, she was supposed to remain hidden, protecting in secret.

That became impossible and now not only can Richard see her, but they are in love and Emrys is mortal.

I really liked that All That Burns did not just give us a mortal Emrys, who's left both immortality and faery behind. The choice she made in All That Glows was a large one and the author does not take it, or its effect on the character, lightly.

At the same time that Richard must learn all that it takes to become King (the long days, endless hours with Parliament, the expectations), Emrys is learning what all her new life entails. And what it does not.

Their lives are both very different now and while they still love each other, it is not a cure-all. They each have doubts, questions and are struggling. It makes the story, the characters, and their relationship both feel more real and more compelling.

Part of what I loved most about All That Glows is back - and possibly even better - in the sequel: the mix of magic, of Fae and modern London. With the general population now aware of the Fae's existence, steps are being taken to ease the divide between the two societies.

Of course, that is something easier said than done. Faery has existed in secret for centuries and not everyone is exactly ready to bring the two worlds back together.

Even as we're seeing what (in London) would need to change for the Fae to be a part of things, to assist, we see the resistance to that integration. The resistance and all of the trouble it can lead to for the characters.

Emrys, Richard and Annabelle's characters become even more well developed in All That Burns. They were already intriguing characters with nice relationships but in this second book we learn more about them. We get a deeper look at who they are. Likely, you'll love them even more once the book is over.

All That Burns brings back the great characters from All That Glows, makes them even better, brings the Fae an the people of London closer together, mixing that past, magic and the modern day in great ways and throws some very real problems at the characters and their relationships. It does feel a bit lighter than All That Glows but readers should love the developments.

Ryan Graudin is doing a preorder special through her local indie Blue Bicycle Books. You can pre-order a signed copy of All That Burns and get a free ALL THAT BURNS tea (a ginger plum flavored black tea). Don’t miss this special offer! Click here to pre-order a signed copy of All That Burns

My name is Ryan and I've been writing ever since I grabbed one of my dad's old tax ledgers and created this masterpiece: see image.

My writing has since improved, though my obsession with wolves has remained relatively the same (I even own a wolf-hybrid pup.) My childhood was a happy, sunny thing. I grew up on a steady diet of fairytales, salt-marshes, music and brothers who would re-enact Redwall battles with me in the back yard. I went to an artsy sort of high-school that allowed cello recitals in the hallways and impromptu poetry slams in the cafeteria. It was there I decided that writing was what I wanted to do more than anything.

I'm officially a grownup now (I suppose one must admit that once they turn 26). My diet still includes fairytales, salt-marshes and art, but there are a few new loves thrown in. A big one is travel. Pieces of my heart are scattered like breadcrumbs all over the globe--I've bartered them off for writing inspiration, so I suppose it's a fair trade.

When I'm not cramming my earthly belongings into a backpack and waiting in airport security lines, I'm doing one of the following: Writing YA novels, Photographing weddings with my husband, Making our little white cottage more homey, Playing with my wolf pup, Trying out Korean récipes, Haunting local coffee shops with my friends.

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